Controller.



J. E. SEELEY.

CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. so. 1914.

1,174,293.A Patented Mar. 7,1916.

n y JCE/77@ E. 566/6? Y [s Afa/way UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

JAMES E. SEELEY, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO VULCAN COILCOM.-

' PANY, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7,1916.

Application filed November 30, 1914. Serial No. 874,638.

To all whom t may concern A Be .it known that I, JAMES E. SEELEY, acitizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county ofLos Angeles, State of California, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Controllers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a controller apparatus or mechanism adaptedparticularly for use in connection with such an electrical machine as Ihave set forth in my application Serial No. 744,286 filed January 27,1913; and the object of the present invention is the provision of simpleand efficient means for controlling the current to such a machine, or toany other machine or device, which controller shall be simple andinexpensive in its construction and operation and shall have indefinitelife under constant use.

In the types of controllers ordinarily used for high tension apparatus,the life of the contacts is comparatively short. The contacts areusually of a sliding nature, and the arcing which takes-place betweenthe stationary contacts and the movable contact arm is destructive ofthe contacts in a comparatively short time. Even under the best ofconditions the contacts are usually in such a state as to makerelatively poor electrical connections.

In overcoming these difficulties it is my object to provide a simple andeffective mechanism wherein all arcing is eliminated from the slidingcontacts and wherein a make and break switch is interposed in thecontroller circuit and operated in such a manner as to cut off thecurrent during the movement of the sliding contacts. This make and breakswitch is constructed and operated, in such a manner that arcing and theill effects caused thereby are practically eliminated.

I have shown a preferred form of my controller mechanism in theaccompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a plan and diagram showingmy controller and illustrating typical electrical connections therefor.Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the controller. Fig. 3 is a section takenas indicated by line 3 3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a similar sectionshowing the controller in another position with the make and breakswitch open.

In the drawings the numeral 10 designates a suitable base upon which thecontroller is mounted, this base being preferably of some insulatingmaterial, as vulcanized fiber. Upon this base a pair of metallicstandards 11 is mounted, these standards carrying the shaft 12 in theirupper ends.l A small hand wheel 13 is provided for rotating the shaftand an indicator disk 14 is provided showing the position 4of the shaft,and showing the connective conditions of the controller at any time.Mounted upon the shaft 12 I provide a drum l5 of suitable insulatingmaterial, as vulcanized fiber. In the surface of this drum I set aplurality of contacts 16 trated. In the present device I have four ofthese contacts 16 and they are spaced circumferentially apart one eighthof the total circumference. Each of the contacts, preferably formed bythe head of a screw, reaches down through the drum 15 and makeselectrical connection with the shaft 12 within the drum.

On one side of the drum I mount upon the base 10 four contact fingers20, spaced apart so as to be each opposite one of the drum contacts 16.@n.the opposite side of the drum -I provide only three contact fingers21 which are arranged opposite three of the drum contacts 16. Theseopposite sets of contact fingers press against-the drum alongdiametrically opposite longitudinal lines. In the position shown in Fig.1, it will be seen that no contact 16 is engaging with any of thecontact fingers 20 or 21. If the drum is rotated one eighth of arevolution in the direction indica-ted then the contact 16 which isopposite the right hand contact finger 21 in Fig. 1, will pass intoengagement with the contact finger; and upon successive rotations of thedrum through steps of one eighth of arevolution the next two contacts 16to the left will successively engage with the neXt two contact fingers21 to the left. Another successive rotation of one eighth of arevolution will bring the contact 16 which is farthest to the right inFig. 1 into engagement with the contact finger 2O which is farthest tothe right in Fig. l; and successive rotations through steps of oneeighth of a revolution will bring remaining contacts 16 into successiveengagement with the contact fingers 20 from right to left; until, in thelast position, the contact 16 farthest to the right will be inengagement with the contact finger 2O farthest to the left. An-

vwhich are arranged on a spiral line as illusothker rotation through aneighth of a revolution will bring the apparatus back` to the positionshown inF ig. 1 with none of the contacts inengagement with any of thecontact lingers. This position is called the zero position, and is soindicated by the indicator disk 14, while the other successive positionsare designated by the numbers l to 7 in the order named.

One end of the drum 15 is provided with longitudinal indentations 30,eight in number and spaced equally about the drum. The contacts 16 arearranged on longitudinal lines with four of these indentations 30. Apair of springs arms 31 are mounted upon the base l0 and their upperends at 32 bear against the drum diametrically oppositely and on thesame longitudinal lines of bearing as the upper ends of the contactlingers 20 and 21.V The arrangement is such that when the drum is in theposition shown in Fig. 1, or is in any position in which one of thecontacts 16 engages one of the contact lingers 20 kor 21, then the upperends of the spring arms 31 will press into opposite indentations in thedrum. The arrangement y is also made so that, as the drum is rotated,

the upper ends of the arms will be first forced out of the indentationsbefore a contact has moved far enough to pass out of engagement with acontact finger; and also so that the next contact will move intoengage-,-

ment with its corresponding contact finger before the ends of the springarms drop into the nextindentation. The make and break switch comprisesa pair of switch contacts 35 carried on the arms 31 opposite each otherand adapted to be pressed against each other when the upper ends of thearms are pressed into the opposite indentations and to be separated fromeach other when theupper .endsof the arm are forced out of the inden-4tations. The contact .faces of these contacts 35 are carefully preparedso that good contact is assured and so `as to minimize the arcingbetween the two contacts 35. Elimination of sliding engagementl betweenthe two contacts 35 does much toward the elimination of arcing; Aand thequick opening and closing movement between the contacts also assists inelimination of arcing. It will be noticed that the indentations 30 andthe upper ends 32 of the arms 31 4are so formed that a very slightrotation of the drum suffces to move the arms 31 and the contacts 35. Inother words, when the contacts areopened, they are moved apart from eachother very quickly and they are held wide apart until the drum isrotated almost to its next position, when they are quickly moved towardeach other. The contacts 35 are always in the open position shown inFig. 4 when any one of the contacts 16 are either making or breakingconnection with any of the contact lingers 20 or 21. One of the springarms 31 isfconnected, as at 36, withy35; and this make and break switchopens and closes in such manner, as hereinbefore described, as to cutthe current olf from the contacts 16 while those contacts are eithermaking or breaking connection with contact .lingers 2O or 21. In thismanner all possibility of arcing at the sliding'contacts of thecontroller is entirely eliminated; the current is only turned on to thecontacts 16 when those contacts are in good electrical engagement withthe contact fingers.

In my electrical machine I use my controller as a resistance orimpedance control: ler; and in a typical installation the contactfingers 20 and 21 are connected by wires45 to different sections ofacoil 46, and the endof the coil is connected to a terminal wire 47.

The operation of turning the hand wheel 13 will throw the controller tosuccessive positions which will successively cut out portions of thecoil 46 from the circuit, the seventh position of the controller beingthat in which the minimum part of the coil is in circuit. i

In the zero position of the controller, there is no circuit made at all.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A controller, comprising a rotary drum, contacts on said drum,contact fingers adapted to be engaged by the drum contacts duringrotation of the drum, and a make and break switch independent of saidcon-4 tacts and fingers and operated by the same rotation of the drumwhich engages the contacts with the fingers.

2. A controller, comprising a rotary drum i of insulating material,contacts on the drum, contact fingers adapted to" be engaged by the drumcontacts during rotation, one yenol of the drum bein longitudinallygrooved around vits circum erence, and a make and break switch connectedwith the drum contacts embodying a pair of switch contacts, and a springarm carrying one of said contacts and adapted to move into and out of'the grooves on the drum when thedrum is revolved. v

. 3. A controller comprising a base, adrum of insulating materialrotatively mounted thereon, contacts arranged in a spiral line of theface of the drum, a plurality of contact fingers on the base bearingagainst the drum to engage with the contacts thereon when the drum isrotated,vthe bearing points of the ngers and the relative positions ofthe contacts being so arranged that the different contacts will bebrought into engagement with the different ingers upon rotation of thedrum step by step, a series of indentations in the end of the drumspaced apart by distances equal to said step yby step lmovement of thedrum, and a make and break switch embodying a pair of switch contactsand a pair of spring arms carrying said contacts and having their endsengaging the indented end of the drum.

4. vA controller comprising a base, a plurality of spaced materialrotatively mounted on the base, a plurality of spaced contact fingersbearing against the drum along a longitudinal line, a pluralityofcontacts on the drum surface one opposite each finger arranged in aspiral line and spaced circumferentially by an integral portion of thecircumference, one end of the drum being indented at circumferentialspacings equal to the spacings of the contacts, a pair of spring armsmountedV on the base with their ends pressing diametrically oppositelyagainst the indented end of the drum, and switch contacts carried bysaid spring arms opposite each other so that the contacts will pressagainst each other when the arm ends are in opposite indentations, oneof said switch contacts being electrically connected with being spacedcircumferentially by the arc determined by the division of the wholecircumference by the total number of contact fingers plus one, the endof the drum bein indented with indentations equal innum er to twice thenumber of drum contacts spaced equally around the circumference and thedrum contacts being on longitudinal lines with one half theindentations, a pair of sprin arms mounted on the base and bearingdiametrically oppositely against the indented part ofthe drum on thelongitudinal bearing lines of the contact ingers, switch contactscarried on said arms opposite each other to be pressed against eachother when the arms press into the indentations, and electricalconnection between one of said switch contacts and the drum shaft. v

6. A controller, comprising a rotary drum, contacts thereon, contactfingers adapted to be engaged by the drum contacts during rotation ofthe drum, a make and break switch independent of the contacts andfingers and electrically connected thereto, and means whereby the makeand break switch is opened and closed by virtue of the same rotationthat engages the contacts with the lingers.

7. vA controller, comprising a rotary drum, contacts thereon, contactingers adapted to be engaged by the drum contacts during rotation of thedrum, a make and break switch independent of the contacts and ngers andelectrically connected thereto, and means whereby the make and breakswitch is opened and closed by virtue of the same rotation that engagesthe contacts with the iingers, said means embodying a corrugatedperipheral portion of the drum and switch operating members adapted tocoperate therewith.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 10th day of November, 1914.

J. E. SEELEY.

Witnesses:

J AMES T. BARKELEW, ELwooD H. BARKELEW.

